Envy 14 update

When I called in the first time, last Friday at about 8:15AM (they open at 8AM CST), the guy said I needed to call back in 15-20 mins and he would have the newest list, but no Radiance displays showed up. When I called yesterday at 8:30AM the guy said the list was just updated, but their weren't any radiance screens on it. I called yesterday afternoon to confirm the time to call back the guy said around 8:30AM CST (he confirmed I was in Houston). Then this morning I called at 8:30 am and the guy again said the list had just been updated. So it's been consistent over the last few days at 8:30AM Central time. I think the list may update for the call center everyday. That's why I say to call in every morning to get the latest, don't wait for the online update.

Good Luck.

Todd

P.S.- I had tried to buy a new one from a dude on craigslist and as soon as he knew I was interested he jacked up the price by $100, so I'm glad to get this one. Hopefully everything is okay with it.

 

K nobody call till I get one now. I will tell you when.

 

oh snap .. guess u are right ... anyways i think they stick to the 5650 because of its TDP.

 

I may be wrong but isn't the major reason that the SB i7 gets such better battery life because the previous gen didn't have an internal GPU? In that case it makes sense that the SB i7 has double the battery life of the previous gen but ti also means that the SB i5 processors won't see nearly that gain because the previous gen already had internal GPU's.

 

Seven envy with 1600x900 just poped up on the refurb site! 3 with ssd drives one with 256gb! I got the 256gb. enjoy

 

And I got the one with 160gb and 4 gigs of ram. Canceling mine from yesterday. 900 out the door is not bad at all. Wooo I'm pumped. Hopefully the scratch and dent is just something stupid on the back of the case or bottom. Just as long as my screen is intact I'll be happy with it. Plus I already have my own ram to upgrade it to 8 gigs so heck yeah.

 

They told me the scratch and dent is just a mark somewhere on the case. He said it cannot be on the screen or palm area.

It came out to $1009 for me then shipping and NY TAX was $1116.

 

Awesome, then that's exactly what the doctor ordered. Congrats, glad you got a good one.

 

I dont know what to do now lol. I have an envy with 580 6gb for $804 new coming and now this one with 1600x900 450 4gb 256gb ssd for $1114

 

I think the best part is, that you don't have to decide until they both get there since the return policy is so good. At least HP doesn't **** that up.

 

What processor was that for that cheap? Mine yesterday was $1095 plus tax and only 4GB of ram. But with the 160GB SSD

Edit: OK, I see, that was cheaper for scratch and dent items. Cool, glad it worked out for you. Did you call at 8:30AM central time?

 

450m, I'm pretty sure it's because it's considered a "scratch and dent" rather than a straight refurbished product, and I also got an additional 10% off by mentioning the promotion on the website.

That was my model not his, sorry. 850+ tax.

 

I may have to call back to see if I can get the extra 10%, I thought that was supposed to be automatic. But mine listed on the website at $1095 and that's what I ended up paying...plus tax.

 

Might want to confirm how many they had...I got one with the SSD earlier. It seems like a few of us just purchased the same configuration today. And from my experience, they normally only have 1-2 of one configuration per day. Hopefully there won't be another cancellation fiasco...

 

Yeah, it's in addition to the list price. You have to ask about it during the checkout process for them to even give you the less price. Good luck.

 

They seem to have a pretty accurate database of refurbished PCs. Once a product is "purchased" it's removed and cannot be accessed. It happened to another user yesterday where I got my original model without SSD for more than the SSD model I picked up today.

Phil

 

Yea I guess you cant go wrong with picking up the screen and ssd. I have a few options now.

 

How long does it take before the item ships out? And where it is coming from?

 

I heard originally Texas, but I have no idea how long it'll be before we get them. My first order said 5-7 business days.

 

I can take a few scratches here and there...but please NO DEAD/STUCK PIXELS!

 

I was told if you ordered today it would ship by Friday b/c of the bad weather in TX, they are backlogged.

 

yeah. this is disappointing if true.

 

Agreed!

My Envy 14 with radiance arrived last week and had one stuck red pixel on the bottom right quadrant of the screen near the middle. I'm OCD about most things but the one stuck pixel didn't bother me. It seems as of last night the pixel is no longer stuck though

With that said, I hope yours doesn't have any...but even if it has one or two spread far out, I doubt you'll be too bothered

 

So what do you guys suggest I do now. I have two laptops coming. Would you combine the parts with the I580 or just not open the I580 and sell it on ebay? I am looking to save some money.

#1 = $804
I580 6gb

#2 = $1116
I450 4gb 1600x900 screen! 256gb ssd

 

I'd say if you are up for it is to take the SSD and the Radiance and put them on the i5-580M and the 6 GB machine and sell the i5-450M and the 4 GB with the standard HDD and the BV. You won't get much back for it, but you will have a top-specifications Envy 14.

 

Yea I was thinking that also. Plus the i5-580m has the 2 year warranty. How much do you think I will get for the envy 14 i450 bv?

 

Probably $600-$800 depending on the condition of the unit recieved after the retrofits you make.

 

My roommate is interested in getting an envy and doesn't want to dish out for a new one from hp so if you can offer a good deal pm me.

 

I may change my order. There are a lot of 160gb ssd versions left and I am thinking about changing stepping down from the 256gb. I dont fill up that much space and its $200 less.

 

Yea I cancelled my order for the 256gb ssd so if anyone wants it call now and get it! I switched to the 160gb ssd for $190 less. I couldnt justify paying the money for the space I will never use.

 

Wise move bigwood. How many of these do they have?? Normally it's very limited per configuration. I seriously hope their inventory is working. After the last cancellation fiasco, I do get nervous. I just want my radiance! (I think I'll be disappointed though because I heard it's a matted screen beneath the plastic glossy cover - at least it's not the BV!).

 

You will be very disappointed. Save yourself some disappointment and I'll give you 200 for the radiance.

 

My comment is in reference to how much hype there is about the screen, and how much of a hassle it has been for me to get my order in. Personally, I don't think any screen is worth the effort and annoyance I, and a few other members, have gone through. But the damage is done. The only thing to do is move forward.

 

While i stand by my opinion that the BV is not bad at all but the radiance is worth whatever it takes to get it. After all you've been through i think it will be worth even more to you than those of us that were just able to get easily. After having a BV for months i'm extremely impressed with this screen. The brightness alone makes it amazing in my book, then the fact that so much more can fit on the screen is unbelievable. What tops the cake is watching a 1080 high def movie (i know it scales down to 900), i couldn't ask for anything more as far as quality and colors.

I really think you'll be impressed and if you aren't there are so many people that want it that you could make a little money.

 

The reason sandy bridge laptops have been getting "5 hrs" of battery life IS because the i7 has an integrated GPU now, whereas the previous gen did not. So its not that i7 was that much more of an energy hog, its just it could not switch to graphics. Who knows about the SB i5's or i3's

 

I totally agree... My gf has the Envy 14 Beats ( Brightview) and I have the Envy 14 ( Radiance) and i can see the difference every day and it's significant. Funniest moment so far: When she asked me if I could adjust her screen to be as bright as mine.

 

Ouch, and LOL. Polluxus, I suppose now you have a good idea of what to get your gf on her Bday or another special day.... *hint...an Envy 14 with radiance if HP brings the screen back...or something very very similar to it, hopefully another HP *

KJ

 

I have never gone on that site when there was an E14 with Radiance for sale. Any advice - anyone?

I will say that it's a very good thing that they're doing this, as it seems to be keeping prices down on eBay. Really nice to see not a single bite for an E14 w/Radiance over around $1.200 which, in my view, is a fair price, especially new in a box. I'd buy one in a heartbeat, but so far the ones on auction have days to go and, as I said, I can't seem to get lucky on the HP site.

Of course, my Executive Case Manager is still working doggedly to get my Radiance fixed, get me another one or get me a "substitute" computer from anywhere in HP's product lines - consumer and business. Anyone care to venture a suggestion for which, among the ProBooks and Elitebooks might be a viable option? They seem possibly willing to go well above the Envy price point - though I'll believe it when I see it - and from my research it seems to get a good screen - eg, the "Dream Color" - on a business class notebook, I've got to go to at least 15.6" which I really don't prefer, but it may come down to this as the only option short of what all the canceled orders got: a BV screen, a few goodies tossed in or just get a refund.

Sorry, I threw in multiple questions in there. Any feedback to any part would be appreciated.

 

Refurbished business products

Has a daily list that is occasionally updated, all you do is call the number with the part number of the envy you want and it's a really quick and painless process. They officially get their stock every morning at 830 CST, so if you call then you'll have a better chance of getting something fresh.

Make sure to mention the additional 10% off when you order that you can easily see is a promotion from the online site. I'm getting my refurb/scratch and dent radiance i5-450m with 4 gigs of ram and a 160gb ssd for a little over 900 when it's all said and done. Hopefully the case is just scratched up a little, which I couldn't care less about, and I can go along on my merry way.

I still need to cancel my BV Hp order replacement that's coming soon, however I'll probably just wait to truly compare the two for my own eyes and make a decision based on that. Sorry about your screen : (

 

The DC 2 IPS on the 8540w is so worth it. If the executive case manager will allow you to do that, then by all means go for one with the DC 2. Once you experience DC 2, I am pretty sure you never want to look at any other laptop monitor ever again in the same way. The DC 2 will even make Radiance looks like a counterfeit (lol).

Also the 8540w has a slightly better GPU than the Envy 14's and its overall build quality is 2nd to none. Also the Corporate Warranty from HP is far superior than the ones given to Envy's, including standard NBD On-Site Repair and Customer Self-Replaceable Parts.

If they offer you a well-specification built 8540w with the DC 2, I would take on in a heartbeat. You won't regret it!

 

Thanks so much for the info - and the sympathy .

I've asked my "Executive Case Manager" (who has hijacked my new Envy14 with defective radiance case so that I can't talk to the many helpful people I know at HP about my specific case and whether/when I might actually get the display replaced. Though I doubt this will happen (the E.C.M;s answer to most requests is: "sorry, I have no authority/access to do that"), I've asked if perhaps she can get the people in charge of the refurbs to snag me one before they're all sold out. Seems so simple to me - worst case, snag a refurbed E14 with a Radiance, pop the Radiance out and put it into my brandee new E14 languishing at the Service Center in Texas, send it back to me - with an SSD thrown in for my troubles and the fact that my new E14 has a used/refurbed (a.k.a. "powered up and viewed to have no defects!) Radiance.

Regrettably, the simpler and more obvious the solution, the more "impossible" it is for my case manager to make happen. I would really like to be able to let go on this, but I've been on the "quality LCD only" bandwagon for several years and everything I read about the Radiance is that it is just better than all the superlative reviews say it is. My only comfort, if you can call it that, is that between HP's refurb site and the substantial number of greedy/lucky E14 Radiance buyers in January, for some amount of money I will be able to score the machine I want. The price of my configuration was $944. Seems like the refurbs are going for about the same on HP, about $200-$300 more on eBay (fortunately, I don't see any of the greedily priced $1,300-$1,500 ones on eBay getting any bites.

Again, thanks for the info and the support. Maybe I'll get lucky tomorrow at 8:30 CST.

 

Well good luck in whatever you decide to do. If you can get a refurbished Envy 14 that would be the best plan for you by the looks so far. However, if you have a chance to get a 8540w with DC 2, don't underestimate it either as an offer. Just my two cents.

 

Thanks very much. I was writing a response to you when you wrote back to my previous post. I really would be very pleased with an 8540. It's only the weight and battery life that make it not a total no-brainer . Is the screen on your 8740 a DC2 - the Samsung? The retail price of a well spec'd 8540 is about double the list on the E14, so I have great doubt that this may be anything but another false alarm.

Sorry, I'm just repeating myself in post after post. I am usually very easy going about these things - you have to be if you buy as many computers as I do. But this one has just gotten under my skin. I can accept even incompetence, but not lies and entirely illogical and indefensible excuses. I have to say, HP has done some rather heroic things for me in the past, so I should be able to rest easy that the resolution (that pun was not intended) will be favorable. But I've never had the process be so opaque as this one is, and it causes more doubt of the outcome.

 

The screen I have is not a DC 2. It is just a WVA-Enhanced TN W-LED. The DC 2 should be a 10-bit IPS panel sourced from LG-Philips. I believe only HP themselves keep all stock of this said panel, so there is not third-party seller that is able to sell it. Even if they did, the panels aren't cheap ($500 CTO Upgrade, $1200 as an aftermarket part).

However, I have seen one of these DC 2 in person on another 8740w and my god it is truly amazing! Sadly, I am just too poor to even consider ordering a 8740w with this option. More reasons why if you let you get a 8540w with a DC 2, by all means do so.

 

They had 9 different configed envy's with 1600x900 when I ordered. They also had a few of the same configs but they just list it once. The scratch and dent were discounted more. Today there was one also but you must have missed it. They come and go.

 

So I ordered mine (refurbished) on the 8th, they shipped it yesterday and the first delivery attempt by FedEx was this morning at 9:08 AM. Pretty good service. Unfortunately they (FedEx) says HP won't let them hold it for me at the local FedEx depot. I have to either wait around for delivery, or pay $15 to pick a different address to deliver it to. It has to be signed by me in person. Seems strange that they won't let them hold it for pickup.

At least one more night without Radiance.

Todd

 

lol you live in houston tx! Mine is coming from there. You should have just picked it up at the warehouse.

 

I asked. They said no. I has to be delivered.

 

Both of mine the new one with BV and the refurb one with radiance are both enroute as of last night. Good stuff. Should get the BV one day before the refurb. Then I'll return the one that sucks : P.

 

I like the way you think bigphil233. It has to work out in your favor.


KJ